Christine Blower, former head of the NUT teaching union, has been nominated as a Labour peer in Theresa May’s resignation peerages list, announced today.

Ms Blower, who was the general secretary of NUT from 2009 to 2016, was nominated by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to become a member of the Lords.

Ms May’s former chief of staff Nick Timothy, who had been director of the New Schools Network before joining her at Number 10, was also recognised in the list and made a CBE.

Mr Timothy was forced to quit his role at Number 10 in 2017, alongside fellow chief of staff Fiona Hill, after a disappointing election performance by the Conservative Party.

Support for Jeremy Corbyn

In 2016, following her departure from the NUT, Ms Blower said she would be joining the Labour Party under Mr Corbyn’s leadership, and the Labour party leader made an appearance at the union’s conference that year.

At the time, Ms Blower, who once stood for the London Socialist Alliance in elections to the London Assembly, said it was a “particularly interesting” moment for the opposition leader to address the conference, after protests by teachers against the academisation of schools.

The NUT merged with the ATL teaching union in 2017 to become the NEU teaching union.

The resignation honours list is an opportunity for the outgoing prime minister to select colleagues and advisers for peerages. Opposition parties are also able to nominate people to the House of Lords.